The invention relates to wrenches and, more particularly, to a line wrench having an open end for sliding onto a line, a multi-sided hole for engagement with a line nut, and a detachable closure mechanism.
To loosen or tighten a nut positioned on a line or tube, such as in the automotive repair industry, a wrench having an open end, typically referred to as a "line wrench", is used. The open end of the wrench is slid over the line or tubing, enabling the wrench to engage the line nut. A common problem of conventional line wrenches is slippage because the wrench does not make contact on all sides of the line nut. Another problem is the rounding off of the line nut due to the open end and five sided inner jaw design, which allows the open end to expand under heavier loads and does not provide sufficient grip on the nut.
There are several kinds of open end line wrenches. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,727,418 issued Dec. 20, 1955 to Moon and entitled "Reinforced Wrench". The wrench includes a head, having an open end and a hole, and an arcuate member for attachment to the head to prevent the spreading of the arms of the head. However, the wrench does not provide for contact with all sides of a nut and under heavy pressure, the arcuate member may become disengaged from the head. Additionally, a different sized head and arcuate member must be manufactured for various sizes of wrenches, increasing the cost of the wrench.
Another wrench is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,463 issued Sep. 24, 1991 to Stielow and entitled "Ratchet Wrench". The wrench includes a nut driver having an opening and detachable wedge portion mounted within the opening. However, sleeve inserts must be used so that the wrench may accommodate various sizes of nuts. Also, the nut driver does not have a hole for engagement with a torque applying tool.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus and method for tightening and loosening an object positioned on a line which utilizes a detachable member engagable within an open end of various sized wrenches for providing contact on all sides of an object with an inside periphery of the wrench and which prevents the expansion of the open end of the wrench thereby reducing slippage and rounding off of the edges of the object.